Best Local Visual Artist

Diana Madaras

For a very long time, the visual artist who represented Southern Arizona (at least in the popular sense) was Ted DeGrazia, with his images showing up on all kinds of souvenirs that visitors took with them as they traveled to their various homes around the world. While DeGrazia's famous images will be a part of our culture forever, to some extent Diana Madaras has taken over some of that role with her watercolors, which aim to capture the vivid spirit of the area around us. Madaras' generosity also helps people here love her more, as she's known as one of this city's most philanthropic citizens.